Jessica Hawkins seals 2026 British GT4 Silver class title
Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton secured the 2026 British GT Championship GT4 Silver title in a dramatic season finale at Brands Hatch, completing a remarkable campaign with the #21 MKH Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. The pair came within just 0.2 seconds of taking the overall GT4 championship as well.
Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton secured the 2026 British GT Championship GT4 Silver title in a dramatic season finale at Brands Hatch, completing a remarkable campaign with the #21 MKH Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. The pair came within just 0.2 seconds of taking the overall GT4 championship as well, finishing the season tied on 143.5 points, but ultimately losing the title on countback after an intense final-lap battle.
Hawkins and Orton entered the Brands Hatch finale in contention for both championships, sitting third in the overall GT4 standings but just six points behind the championship leaders, while their advantage in GT4 Silver was similarly narrow, with only 2.5 points separating them from the top of the class. For the first time in the season, the pair would also compete without additional pit-stop compensation time, giving the #21 Aston Martin a valuable opportunity to fight during the decisive two-hour race.
Sharing the Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Hawkins and Orton had consistently challenged at the front of the GT4 Silver class throughout the season. Their campaign had included a runner-up finish at Silverstone, a GT4 Silver victory at Oulton Park and another class podium at Spa-Francorchamps, before an especially strong Snetterton weekend produced two further Silver podiums and moved the duo into the lead of both the overall GT4 and GT4 Silver championships. Donington Park proved more difficult, with rapidly changing conditions and a penalty limiting them to fifth in GT4 Silver and sixth overall, but another top-five class result ensured that their championship challenge remained alive heading into Brands Hatch.
The opening stages of the final weekend suggested that the Aston Martin would have to fight hard for the titles. McLaren and Ginetta machinery immediately appeared to have an advantage around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, with Hawkins and Orton fourth in class during FP1 with a 1:31.996 and improving marginally to a 1:31.948 in FP2, although the #21 remained just outside the top five in the overall GT4 order.
Hawkins took the wheel for the opening qualifying session and set a 1:32.291, placing the Aston Martin fifth in GT4 Silver and seventh overall in GT4, after not being able to go for a third push-lap in qualifying. Orton took over for Q2 and responded with a series of increasingly competitive laps, first recording a 1:31.5 before improving to a 1:31.2, leaving the #21 Aston Martin seventh overall and fifth in GT4 Silver on combined qualifying times.
With the championships separated by only a handful of points, Hawkins was handed the responsibility of starting the final race of the season. The opening two-hour contest would determine the outcome of an entire campaign, with just a handful of points separating the #21 crew from both GT4 titles.
Hawkins made a clean and confident start, negotiating Paddock Hill Bend without incident and retaining fifth place in GT4 Silver. She immediately settled into a solid rhythm behind the #27 Aston Martin of Lavery, while also building a substantial advantage over the #8 Porsche of Duggan behind her. Within the opening laps, the Porsche had fallen more than two seconds back, while Hawkins was circulating consistently in the 1:32.8s.
The weather added another variable to an already tense championship finale, with the sunshine gradually giving way to cloud cover and the possibility of rain developing later in the race. Hawkins continued to hold the gap to Lavery at around one second while maintaining a comfortable advantage over the cars behind, which eventually extended beyond 10 seconds after approximately 10 laps.
As the race progressed, Hawkins had to negotiate increasing amounts of GT3 traffic while remaining focused on the championship fight. She continued to produce consistent 1:33s laps, matching the pace of Lavery ahead as the Aston Martin package appeared to struggle slightly more against the McLarens, BMWs and Ginettas at Brands Hatch. Despite the difficult circumstances, Hawkins remained in the battle, doing everything possible to keep the #21 in a position from which Orton could attack once the pit cycle began.
The race was neutralised on lap 37 when overall leader Collard went off into the gravel, bringing out the Full Course Yellow. Hawkins remained fifth in GT4 Silver and seventh overall in GT4 when the field was neutralised, with the gaps effectively frozen before the race returned to green two laps later.
The pit window was then opened, and several GT4 contenders immediately came into the pits. Hawkins stayed out longer, gaining an additional position when the #74 Ginetta of Simpson encountered trouble, and temporarily moved the #21 Aston Martin into third place in GT4 Silver and third overall in GT4.
She finally brought the car into the pits on lap 40 with 54 minutes remaining, handing the Vantage GT4 over to Orton. Crucially, the #21 crew no longer had any pit-stop compensation time to serve, allowing the team to complete the stop without the additional delays. Orton rejoined third in GT4 Silver and fifth overall, with the McLarens of Stanton and Lake leading ahead of the #27 Aston Martin of Turner and the Ginetta of Mitchell.
A further Full Course Yellow was required to recover the stranded #74 Ginetta, but once racing resumed with 42 minutes remaining, Orton immediately set about closing the gap to the cars ahead. He initially had around seven seconds to make up to the fourth-placed Ginetta and responded with a 1:32.446 before settling into a consistent run of 1:32s laps.
The championship picture began to change rapidly as the leading cars encountered problems. The #84 McLaren of Lake was handed a drive-through penalty for a pit-stop infringement, dropping out of contention for the leading positions, while Turner, Lake and Mitchell continued to fight intensely for the remaining places at the front of GT4.
Orton was meanwhile extracting more and more from the Aston Martin, setting a new personal best for the race of 1:32.240 and reducing the gap to the group ahead to four seconds. When Lake served the drive-through, Orton was promoted to second in GT4 Silver and fourth overall, placing him directly in the championship fight with just over 30 minutes remaining.
The #21 Aston Martin was now among the fastest cars in class, and Orton began steadily eating into the advantage of Mitchell and Turner. Over the following laps, the gap fell to barely two seconds, and by lap 62 it was down to just 1.2 seconds, bringing Orton directly onto the rear of the two cars ahead.
By lap 66, Orton was attacking Mitchell's Ginetta. The pair went side-by-side without either driver yielding, allowing the Ginetta to retain the position for the moment, but Orton was clearly on the offensive as the championship battle entered its decisive phase.
GT3 traffic once again became a major factor in the closing stages, and the race changed when Mitchell's Ginetta made contact with Turner's #27 Aston Martin. Orton was able to take advantage, passing Mitchell and immediately moving into the slipstream of Turner's Aston Martin.
The significance of the battle was now clear: the two Aston Martins were now effectively tied on championship points, meaning every position and every fraction of a second could determine the overall GT4 title.
With three minutes remaining, Orton was still pushing through the traffic, while Mitchell remained close enough to threaten. Minutes from the chequered flag, the #21 Aston Martin was still within striking distance, setting up an extraordinary final sequence in which the overall championship remained completely unresolved.
Orton continued to attack through the GT3 traffic and arrived at the final lap with everything still to play for: he made one last attempt to gain a position at the final corner, running almost side-by-side with Mitchell and even putting two wheels onto the grass as the cars accelerated towards the finish.
It was not quite enough. Orton crossed the line just 0.2 seconds behind, leaving the #21 crew tied on 143.5 points with the #27 Aston Martin pairing in the overall GT4 championship. The title was therefore decided on countback, with the Lavery/Turner combination taking the overall crown by virtue of having recorded more race wins during the season.
There was nevertheless a major championship success for Hawkins and Orton. With the Templeton/Collins pairing finishing fourth in GT4 Silver, the #21 crew had done enough to secure the GT4 Silver title, ending the season with 170.5 points compared with 163 for the Century Motorsport duo.
For Hawkins, the achievement adds her name to a select group of female drivers who have won British GT titles. Jamie Chadwick became GT4 champion in 2015, while Flick Haigh won the overall GT3 championship in 2018, and all achieved their titles with Aston Martin machinery. Hawkins now joins them as a British GT class champion.
The GT4 Silver title therefore provides a fitting conclusion to a season in which Hawkins and Orton repeatedly demonstrated their ability to fight at the front of the class. While the overall GT4 crown ultimately escaped them by the smallest of margins, the Brands Hatch finale highlighted just how competitive their campaign had been, with the #21 crew fighting until the final corner of the final lap.
